


When Fools Fall in Love

by raidelle



Series: Raidelle's Alphabet Prompts [6]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Getting Together, Gladlunoct in the Background, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 10:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15362790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raidelle/pseuds/raidelle
Summary: Ignis likes Prompto very, VERY much, but he's afraid to confess his feelings. Luckily, his friends are there tomeddlehelp.





	When Fools Fall in Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [roadsoftrial](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roadsoftrial/gifts).



> The prompt was **Laughter** for Promnis.
> 
> Enjoy reading and please let me know what you think. ^^

“Why don’t you just tell him?”

The words broke Ignis out of his daze. “Beg pardon?” he said in a rather formal tone, though his green eyes were still fixed on something -- or rather, someone -- on the other end of the cafeteria. 

Gladio grinned. “Prompto. Why don’t you just tell him?” He’d been watching Ignis watch Prompto for a good half hour now. The young man in question, a bouncing ball of sunshine with blue-violet eyes, was talking animatedly with his friends and Ignis was following every move with starry eyes. 

“What are you talking about?” Ignis said, finally giving Gladio his attention. The bespectacled man gave an arch glance before taking a sip of his Ebony. Of course, Ignis would refuse to admit it until his dying breath, but Gladio actually caught his best friend sighing dreamily when Prompto threw back his head and laughed.

Gladio snorted. “Yeah, sure, deny it all you want. Everyone who knows you can see it anyway.”

Ignis frowned. “Really?” he said, looking concerned.

That made Gladio laugh out loud, which caused Ignis to look even more concerned.

“What are you laughing about, baby?” Luna asked as she slid her tray beside Gladio’s. She gave her boyfriend a quick chaste kiss on the lips before sitting down.

“Iggy’s being ridiculous about Prompto again,” Gladio answered. His arm immediately went to wrap around the backrest of Luna’s chair.

“When is he not being ridiculous about Prompto anyway?” Noctis, Luna’s other boyfriend, chimed in as he sat beside Ignis.

Luna giggled when Ignis huffed indignantly. “Stop it, you two. Although honestly, Ignis. Why don’t you just come up to him and tell him how you feel?” she said reasonably.

“I can’t Luna. I just --” Ignis looked at Prompto again. “Have you seen him? He’s…. He’s --”

“Talented with a camera? Charming? Cute?” Gladio suggested with a teasing grin.

“Perfect for you?” Noctis supplied helpfully.

Ignis glared at them. “Yes, all of those,” he said stiffly. “What would he ever want to do with a stuffy senior like me?”

“Okay, first of all, you’re not stuffy,” Luna said placatingly. She did not give in when Ignis turned his glare on her. “Well, you’re not!” she insisted. “You might be a smidge intimidating, but that comes with the territory of being the editor-in-chief of The Herald and in the running for summa cum laude and all of those other things you put in your CV.”

Gladio and Noctis were both grinning at Ignis now, bolstering Luna in her monologue. “And you’re gorgeous! Like, model-esque gorgeous. You just don’t like flaunting it, but you’re really very attractive.” She punctuated that statement with a little wave of her fork.

Ignis looked taken aback with all the compliments and was struck rather speechless, so Gladio decided to butt in. “What Luna’s saying is that you’re a catch, Iggy. And I know you’re kinda scared after what happened with Ravus --”

“My brother can be a huge idiot,” Luna said sagely.

“-- but you won’t know anything for sure if you don’t tell him,” Gladio concluded.

“Look, why don’t you come with us on Friday? Nyx and Crowe are hosting a party --” Noctis began.

“Noct, you know I’m not --”

“It’s just a small thing for Nyx’s birthday, Specs. There probably won’t even be like, thirty people there,” Noctis rushed to explain. “And Prompto’s going to be there, so you have an opportunity to talk somewhere that’s not the editorial office of The Herald.”

“I do talk to him outside the editorial office!” Ignis protested.

Gladio, who was the arts editor of the paper, snorted at that. “Shyeah. Literally just outside of it, ‘cause he was just handing over the photos of the latest basketball game against Tenebrae U.”

Noct just shook his head and Luna was trying not to laugh so hard, she was turning pink.

“Fine, I’ll go with you.” Ignis said, already feeling that something bad will happen.

*****

Nyx opened the door of his apartment and blinked owlishly at the new arrival. “Ignis?”

“Hello. And happy birthday.” He held out a perfectly wrapped gift to Nyx. “Am I not welcome?” he added.

“Of course you are! Come on in,” Nyx said pleasantly as he accepted the gift and stepped aside to let Ignis in. “It’s just that I thought you were coming with that threesome over there.” He jerked a thumb toward the sofa where Gladio, Noctis, and Luna were seated; Noctis and Luna were already busy making out, Noctis’s hand slowly creeping up and under Luna’s skirt. Gladio was beside them and while he appeared to be nonchalantly sipping his beer, his hand was idly tracing circles on Noctis’s thigh.

“Oh,” Ignis cleared his throat. “Well, you can probably see why I didn’t go with them.”

Nyx looked back and groaned. “Hey, break it up. I haven’t even served appetizers yet!”

Luna giggled, wiggled out of Noctis’s lap, and arranged her skirt. “Hi Ignis! Glad you could join us,” she said brightly.

“Hi Specs.”

“S’up Iggy?”

“Good evening, you three. I don’t suppose you have room for one more?” Ignis said, looming over the sofa.

Gladio grinned. “We always got room for you, Iggy,” he said with a naughty wink.

“I was talking about the sofa, Gladiolus,” Ignis said dryly.

Gladio stood up and gently shook Ignis by the shoulders. “Relax,” he laughed. “Go sit down. I’m gonna go get us some beers, yeah?”

Ignis plopped himself uncharacteristically gracelessly down the spot that Gladio just left. Which is just as well because who should walk in at that moment but one Prompto Argentum. Ignis would have probably tripped over himself in surprise; as it was, he immediately sat up and arranged himself into a proper sitting posture.

“Hey guys!” he said, waving a hand at them.

“Hi Prompto!” Luna said.

“Hey, dude. What’s up?” Noctis raised his chin in greeting.

“Nothing much,” Prompto said, planting himself on the arm of the sofa beside Ignis. “I was s’posed to cover that gallery opening over at Nebula Street. Remember, Iggy?”

“Oh, right. I --” Ignis had completely forgotten that assignment he gave Prompto.

“Yeah, but it got cancelled for some reason or the other, so I got a free night instead. Which was lucky because, well, here I am!” Prompto said enthusiastically. “Nyx is a good friend to me and I would’ve felt really bad if I missed his birthday.”

Noctis gave Ignis a discreet elbow to the ribs. “Go,” he hissed out of the corner of his mouth. But Ignis seemed to have frozen in his seat, his mouth slightly open as he looked at Prompto.

Thankfully, Ignis’s awkward moment didn’t last long. A newcomer had caught Prompto’s attention and the younger man rose from his makeshift seat and bounded over to Aranea Highwind, Ignis’s fellow history major. “Hey, ‘Nea! Didn’t think you’d be coming!”

“Oh dear,” Luna said as she watched Ignis’s expression go from slack to stricken.

Just then, Gladio arrived with two bottles of beer clutched in each hand. “Here, Lu, you like the white --” He noticed the awkward silence. “What happened?”

Noctis plucked two beers from Gladio’s grasp and pressed one into Ignis’s hand. “Specs froze.”

Ignis downed his beer in three huge gulps.

*****

Later that evening found a tipsy Ignis commandeering the kitchen. He actually shooed out Nyx, who was more amused than anything.

“Go be with your pretty girlfriend and celebrate,” Ignis said, waving the knife he was using to chop the ingredients for a salsa. “I will chase you away with this knife if you try to stop me again!”

“Whoa, careful there. Okay, I’m not gonna stop you but I’m gonna call someone to join you here. You might poke your eye out or something,” Nyx said as he turned to leave.

“Not gonna happen,” Ignis said in a voice that sounded almost singsong. He took a chug -- and he was drunk enough that it was a legitimately unrefined chug -- from his fourth (and a half) beer of the night. He put the bottle down with a loud thunk, and proceeded to chop the peppers, humming happily at this turn of events. Sure, he didn’t get to talk to Prompto but maybe that was for --

“Iggy? You in here?”

Ignis groaned. “Yes. You can leave now, Prompto. Please tell Nyx I still have both my eyes and all my fingers.”

“Nah, I think ‘m gonna stay here. They’re gettin’ kinda rowdy in back there,” Prompto said. He pulled out one of the bar stools and hopped on. “What’re you making?”

“Salsa,” Ignis said tersely. Prompto had dragged the bar stool a bit too close for comfort, and despite his slightly inebriated state, Ignis could have sworn he could smell the pine-and-citrus of Prompto’s cologne.

“Can I help you with anything?” Prompto volunteered. “I’m a tiny bit sloshed, though, so maybe no knives for me,” he giggled.

“No, thank you. You can leave now.”

“Why? If you don’t want my help, that’s okay. But why do I have to leave?” Prompto pouted and Ignis had to close his eyes to avoid thinking improper thoughts about those plush, pink lips.

Prompto took Ignis’s silence as a signal to continue. “So I gotta ask, Igs. What are you doing here? I mean, I don’t think parties are your scene. I haven’t seen you attend one, like, ever.”

“I had a free night,” Ignis said. He actually had to reshuffle his entire schedule for the rest of the month to make time to attend this party, in a desperate, misguided attempt to confess his feelings, but Prompto didn’t need to know that. “And Nyx is my friend.”

“Uh huh. And here I thought you were just looking for a way to talk to me,” Prompto said with an odd blend of shyness and confidence.

Ignis stopped chopping the peppers. “Beg pardon?” he almost choked.

Prompto laughed lightly then licked his lips. It was terribly distracting. Ignis didn’t trust himself to be able to continue with a steady hand after that, so he let go of the knife and set it on the chopping board. He braced his hands on the counter and took a deep breath, which was a bad idea because now he got an even bigger whiff of Prompto’s cologne. Mingled with his natural musk and the tinge of alcohol, it was a potent and heady combination.

“Noct told me you wanted to tell me something,” Prompto said. His voice was low and husky, and he was looking at Ignis through a fall of blonde bangs.

Ignis shook his head. “The meddling brat.”

“So you didn’t want to talk to me?” Prompto sounded so sad that Ignis found himself reaching out to comfort him.

“No, I --” His hand briefly touched Prompto’s shoulder before he realized what he was doing. He snatched it back before it could linger, cradling it instead in front of his chest with his other hand. “I mean, yes. I wanted to talk to you about… about something.”

“And that something is?” Prompto tilted his head to the side, looking like a baby chocobo as he did so. It should have been off-putting but on the man in front of him, with his blonde hair and sparkling blue-violet eyes, it was charming. Or maybe Ignis was just hopelessly smitten.

“I… I mean, I…. You’re very…” Ignis tried for coherence. He really did. But Prompto just tilted his head to the other side and it seemed like his brain won’t engage under the polite yet intense scrutiny.

“I’m very what?” Prompto asked.

“You’re… hard working and smart,” Ignis began. He cleared his throat before continuing. “You’re kind and humble and cheerful and just so warm in the way I’m not and I… I like you. Very, very much and I --”

To Ignis’s utter shock, Prompto caught his face between his hands and kissed him squarely on the lips. He didn’t respond for a few seconds as his mind and body processed this whole new turn of events. It made Prompto pull back a little, his eyes wary and questioning.

“Sorry,” he said. His eyes were wide, pupils blown in a drunken haze, and he was breathing hard through his mouth. “I thought I --”

Finally, everything seemed to click and Ignis pulled Prompto right out of the bar stool to kiss him properly. The bar stool tipped over and Prompto spilled onto Ignis, who deftly caught the smaller man in his arms. Ignis had to stoop a little to make the kiss work, but he would be damned if he would let that little inconvenience stop him from mapping Prompto’s mouth with his own.

When they paused to catch their breaths, Prompto let out a breathy laugh. “I like you too, Iggy,” he said. “I’ve had a crush on you for the longest time and I didn’t think you’d be interested in me at all,” he admitted shyly, hiding his face in the crook of Ignis’s neck.

“What made you think that?” Ignis ran one hand down Prompto’s back while the other held the golden head closer to him, the better to savor the sensation of finally having Prompto in his arms.

Prompto laughed again. “Are you kidding?” He lifted his head to look up at Ignis. “You’re this really smart, talented, suave, super hot guy who --”

Ignis stared at Prompto in his arms like he couldn’t believe his eyes. Then he swooped down for another lingering kiss that made Prompto moan contentedly. Slender, freckled arms went up to wrap around his shoulders; he looped his arms around Prompto’s waist in response, pulling him even closer.

“We’ve been quite the idiots, haven’t we?” Ignis said as they broke apart for air. He traced a finger down Prompto’s cheek, which earned him a blush and a happy sigh.

“Well, at least now we can be idiots together,” Prompto said. “I mean, if, um… if you’d like? To be together, I mean?” he added, a hint of self-consciousness coloring his tone.

“Yes,” he said against Prompto’s mouth. “I’d like that very much.”

Prompto laughed and Ignis captured the sweet sound with his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> Say hello to me on Tumblr! I'm raidelle there, too. :)


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